No modern media critic has gained the prominence and influence that Jon Stewart enjoys. By dint of his broad distribution, copious resources and acerbic wit, the "Daily Show" host has built his career by flagging missteps from newsmakers and the journalists who report on them.

But now it's his turn in the hot seat. As Stewart prepares to host his last show today, Poynter asked six media and TV reporters to evaluate the comedian's impact as a media referee and his legacy of calling out journalistic misdeeds.

Journalists shared personal stories about a "Goosebumps" fan site, a three-year-old riding an elevator, and dropping computer science classes in college to illustrate how journalism has changed since 1989 — and needs to change more quickly today — at Poynter's "Journalism and the Web@25" event Tuesday night.

The panelists at the Ford Foundation in New York represented both new and old media, and television, print, and mobile: